A new walking trail has been created around Greater Manchester to celebrate the spring blossom – and it’s going to be absolutely beautiful.
This is the time of year where nature puts on its most dazzling displays, with pink and white flowers blooming on trees across the UK, with (hopefully) a background of blue skies and sunshine.
And in 2023, the National Trust is shining a spotlight on Manchester, where green spaces are more plentiful than you might think.
The charity has created a 30-stop Bloomtown trail all around the city centre and beyond where you can soak in the prettiest of springtime scenes.
From the famous purple blooms in St Peter’s Square to the showers of blossom in Alexandra Park to the clouds of pink in Sackville Gardens.
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Some of the city’s newest spots are included on the trail too, including, notably, the Castlefield Viaduct.
Blossom on Castlefield Viaduct, Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
This abandoned old industrial beast has just recently been turned into a new urban skypark by the National Trust, drawing comparisons to New York City’s High Line.
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The Castlefield Viaduct is now home to 63 small-but-might Fuji Cherry trees, which are already bursting in bloom.
Also new to the city is Mayfield Park, the huge project which saw the River Medlock uncovered and a new green space created. The site is home to a huge variety of flowering trees and is about to celebrate its first spring since opening to the public.
Blossom will also return to Sadler’s Yard for the first time in centuries, as Plant NOMA and the National Trust create a pop-up display as an homage to the orchard believed to once be here.
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Other highlights to seek out will be Angel Meadow (formerly a mass grave), Cutting Room Square (with great bars around it too), and Manchester Cathedral (with 250,000 bees living on its roof).
The National Trust says that blossom is at its best in Manchester in April (but ‘no one tells nature what to do’) so now is the perfect time to start planning your adventure.
You’ll be looking out for cherry blossom, apple and crab apple blossom, hawthorn blossom, Rowan blossom, magnolia, and foxgloves.
The National Trust ‘Bloomtown’ blossom trail around Manchester
Alexandra Park
Angel Meadow
Ardwick Green
Birchfields Park
Birley Community Orchard
Bridgewater Community Garden
Castlefield Viaduct
Cutting Room Square
Gartside Gardens
Hullard Park
Hulme Park
Manchester Cathedral
Mayfield Park
Ordsall Hall
Parsonage Gardens
Peel Park
Philips Park
Platt Fields Park
Queen’s Park
Rochdale Canal Lock 87
Rochdale Canal Lock 89
Sackville Gardens
Sadler’s Yard
St George’s Park
St John’s Gardens
St Peter’s Square
Tariff Street
Thomas Street Pocket Park
University of Manchester Students’ Union
Whitworth Street West
Featured image: The Manc Group
Travel & Tourism
A Greater Manchester town could be set to get a train station for the first time in 60 years
Emily Sergeant
It’s been a whopping six decades, but the residents of one local town could soon be able to hop on a train out of there.
That’s because a planning application for a brand-new £32 million station in Golborne – which would connect the Greater Manchester town, in the Wigan borough, to the rail network for the first time in more than 60 years – has been submitted to Wigan Council, meaning connectivity is finally one step closer to becoming reality.
In case you didn’t know, Golborne currently has no direct bus, train, or tram services to Manchester, and Leigh is the biggest town in England without a rail station, while the wider area is the largest and most-populous area in Greater Manchester not connected to the rail network.
The milestone aims to boost access to jobs and opportunities for people in the town and the wider Wigan borough.
NEWS: Greater Manchester on track with plan for first new rail station in over 20 years. 🚉
✅ 90%+ public consultation support for Golborne station in Wigan ✅ Planning application in to @WiganCouncil ✅ Local area improvements and walking and cycling links
According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the Golborne station scheme forms part of a wider ambition to bring eight commuter lines into the Bee Network by 2028 – of which “significant investment” has been put into.
The application includes plans for a new accessible two-platform rail station, including step-free access throughout with a footbridge across the tracks and lifts to both platforms, a new hourly service between Wigan and Manchester Victoria, and onwards to Stalybridge, an improved town centre car park, and also new walking and cycling links to the town centre.
The submitting of the proposals comes after nearly 3,000 people had their say on the station earlier this year, with more than 90% of respondents supporting the plans.
A CGI of what the proposed new Golborne station could look like, if plans are approved / Credit: TfGM
If the plans are approved by Wigan Council, work on the site should begin in 2026, according to TfGM, with the new station scheduled to open in 2027.
Mayor Andy Burnham called the submitting of the proposals a “transformative step” for the region.
“It has taken a huge effort to get us to this point,” he explained. “But we have finally reached a major milestone on the journey to reconnect Golborne to the rail network for the first time in over 60 years.
“The proposal is based on extremely sound evidence and huge progress has been made with a planning application being submitted and overwhelming support from local residents.”
Featured Image – TfGM
Travel & Tourism
Fancy living on one of Manchester’s most-sought after streets?
Thomas Melia
Quick! A house on one of Manchester’s most sought-after streets has just gone up for sale and by owning it you can be a part of living history.
Anita Street near Ancoats is a real-life time capsule transporting residents and passers-by back to the 19th century.
Originally branded ‘Sanitary Street’ over the years the road has lost the ‘S’ and ‘ry’ parts of its name, making it sound much more homely.
The houses on this street were trailblazers back in the day, becoming the first council-owned housing to have a sewage system and indoor plumbing in Manchester, hence its old title.
A glimpse inside the communal living space at the Anita Street property. Credit: Goodwin Fish (via Rightmove)
Now, you can get involved with creating your own future on this street with a listing for a house on this popular street uploaded at the start of this month.
The property, which is a spacious two-bedroom maisonette with parking, has a guide price of offers over £310,000.
The floor plan for this living space displays a very practical set-up with both bedrooms on the left-hand side and facilities such as the bathroom and kitchen on the right.
As you enter through the front door there is a corridor running through the whole property with a communal living room and second bedroom at the end of the hall-esque walkway.
The modern and sleek bathroom at Anita Street.Snug kitchen set-up at Anita Street. With interiors like this to boot, it’s not hard to see why it’s one of Manchester’s most sought-after streets. (Credit: Rightmove)
This rare find is even available to first-time buyers or anyone looking for a buy-to-let opportunity in a location that has gained quite a big reputation for itself.
Although the exterior street and attached houses are very much original to their 1897 foundations, the surrounding areas offer a handful of cute vendors to visit and enjoy.
Whether you’re a coffee aficionado or pizza lover, being so close to Ancoats will come in handy with coffee shops and one of the OG Rudy‘s so close by.
It’s not the only property to have been recently listed on this rich road positively dripping with heritage.
Daisy Jackson -
6th April 2023 
